Tim Clark
Studied the benefits of inhaled steroids for relief of asthma
PROFESSOR TIM CLARK, who has died aged 84, led some of the earliest studies into the use of steroids to control asthma, thus helping to develop treatments that gave patients a chance against a potentially life-threatening condition.
When Clark first qualified in medicine in 1961, there was little help available for young asthma sufferers. Treatment with prednisone – a powerful steroid – allowed some to attend school and resume normal life, but it soon became clear that the drug’s side-effects made it unsafe for children.
The mid-to-late 1960s saw a sharp peak in the number of deaths attributed to asthma. Clark was a member of the Medical Research Council’s Committee on Deaths from Asthma, established in 1968, which set out to review the problem and recommend a way forward.
A number of theories – such as the suggestion that the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS) in the inhalers prescribed to sufferers might be toxic – were looked at and debunked.
Clark came to conclude that the arrival of new and fast-acting inhalers had “beguiled patients into believing that they needed no other treatment”, but that it was the under-use of steroids – rather than their overuse– that had led to an spike in deaths. The theory seemed to be confirmed when the “epidemic” waned, assisted by the establishment of training centres – a move backed by Clark – that equipped medical practitioners with the knowledge to support their asthmatic patients in the long term.
In 1977 Tim Clark and Simon Godfrey published Asthma. Dubbed “the green book” (after the colour of the cover of the 1983 edition), it became a leading text, studied by nurses, GPS and specialists alike. Later editions included chapters on the genetics of asthma, and on the relationship between the condition and allergies of various kinds.
Timothy John Hayes Clark was born on October 18 1935 and aged 10 gained a scholarship to Christ’s Hospital boarding school at Horsham, West Sussex. He went on to attend Guy’s Hospital Medical School, and – after stints as a house officer at Guy’s, at Royal Brompton Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital – spent a year as a fellow in medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Maryland.
In 1968 he became a consultant physician at Guy’s, becoming professor of thoracic medicine in the late 1970s, and he was subsequently on the staff of the Royal Brompton Hospital.
In the early 1980s he was a special adviser to the House of Commons’ social services select committee, before becoming dean of the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. As dean of the National Heart and Lung Institute, he oversaw its merger with Imperial College, London, where he was professor of pulmonary medicine.
In 2000 Clark – a selfconfessed “townie” whose knowledge of agriculture was limited to listening to Farming Today on Radio 4 – was handed a daunting new brief as Provost of the newly named Imperial College at Wye in Kent.
Linking the old agricultural college with Imperial’s environmental and bioresearch facilities was a task that required skilful handling, and it met with significant local opposition when details emerged of Imperial’s large-scale construction plans. After Clark stepped down as Provost in 2001 Wye ran into financial difficulties, finally closing its doors to students in 2009.
The author of more than 200 papers, textbooks and articles on respiratory medicine, Professor Tim Clark served as vicechairman of the National Asthma Campaign from 1992 to 2000.
A member of MCC, Clark had a passion for cricket, playing for Guy’s as a student and subsequently as a veteran. On family car journeys Test Match Special was required listening.
He and his wife Ann had four children.
Tim Clark, born October 18 1935, died July 14 2020